In a semiconductor manufacturing process, a liquid process may be performed on a substrate. Such liquid process may include a substrate cleaning process with a cleaning solution, a substrate coating process with a coating solution, an etching process with an etching solution, a developing process with a developing solution, or the like. A liquid processing unit for use in performing these liquid processes includes, for example, a cup; a rotary member such as a spin chuck, disposed in the cup; a nozzle for supplying a processing solution to a substrate; and an exhaust port for exhausting an inside of the cup. When the substrate cleaning process or the like is performed, multiple kinds of processing solutions may be prepared and a multiple number of exhaust pipes may be provided according to the multiple kinds of processing solutions.
In a liquid processing apparatus equipped with such a liquid processing unit, a multiple number of pipe groups or a control member group may be disposed under the liquid processing unit. The pipe groups may include a liquid supply pipe group for supplying the various kinds of processing solutions, a liquid drain pipe group for draining the various processing solutions after the processing solutions are used, a gas exhaust pipe group for exhausting an exhaust gas including vapor of the processing solutions, or the like. The control member group may include a flow control member group for controlling a flow rate of the processing solution supplied from the liquid supply pipe toward a nozzle or the like.
In arranging these multiple number of control member group in the liquid processing apparatus, there has been a high demand for a compact layout capable of accommodating the control member groups in a relatively small region in order to avoid scale-up of the liquid processing apparatus. To this end, different kinds of control member groups may be arranged close to each other in adjacent regions. By way of example, the gas exhaust pipe may be vertically arranged directly under the liquid processing unit and the flow control member group may be positioned next to the gas exhaust pipe.
Meanwhile, the flow control member group includes a flowmeter or a flow rate control valve provided on a supply pipe for supplying the liquid processing solution.
Accordingly, in arranging individual control member for each supply pipe at a vicinity of a region through which relatively big pipes such as the gas exhaust pipes pass, it may be difficult to secure sufficient working space for arranging the individual control member on each supply pipe. Also, this may be very difficult and cumbersome. Further, after assembling the liquid processing apparatus, it may be also difficult for an operator to have a direct access to the flow control member group in the region blocked by the gas exhaust pipes. For example, it may be difficult to perform a maintenance work, such as taking out the control member group by stretching the operator's hands to below the liquid processing unit from the opposite side to the gas exhaust pipes. Thus, the maintenance work has imposed a great burden on the operator.
Here, in a liquid processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, a multiple number of liquid processing units are arranged in a row in a horizontal direction at both sides of a transfer chamber configured to transfer a semiconductor wafer. A set of processing solution pipes, a set of liquid drain pipes and a set of gas exhaust pipes are arranged under each of the liquid processing units. In this liquid processing apparatus, the set of gas exhaust pipes and the set of processing solution pipes are arranged close to each other in adjacent regions, as in other conventional cases. Thus, it would be difficult to perform maintenance work of, e.g., the processing solution pipe group adjacent to the gas exhaust pipe group.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2008-034490 (see paragraph [0024] and FIG. 3)